Beware The Batman: Sacrifice Review

After stealing a valuable package from the League of Assassins, Anarky blackmails Lady Shiva into helping him. Later, Anarky tells Batman where he can find Lady Shiva: the Gotham Contagion Research Center (a building that handles rare and deadly viruses). Although they know it is a trap, Batman and Katana go anyway. Unfortunately, the assassins accidentally release an airborne mutative toxin into the building. Now Batman, Katana, and Lady Shiva have to escape the building before its breach protocol is initiated, while staying ahead of two mutated assassins.

As with all episodes we get a previously “on Beware The Batman” segment before going straight into the episode. We begin with Anarky attacking a cargo shipment containing some unknown object. Meanwhile Batman and Katana attack a League of Assassins hideout in an attempt to find information on the Soul Taker Sword. However the goons soon leave due to a fire and The Dark Knight is forced to evacuate the remaining people in the building while letting the villains go.

After this we see Anarky making a deal with Lady Shiva; he will give back her cargo in return for “a small favour”. The favour in question is access to the Gotham Contagion Research Center. During this Batman and Katana are interrogating a member of the League for information. They are interrupted by Anarky who due to his love of chaos has informed them of his own plans. Realising that it is a trap but unable to leave the League to break into the Center, Batman and Katana pursue them.

The League has arrived first and is already breaking in. They arrive at the virus facility only for two members of the league to be turned into creatures of the night by Anarky who has devised the entire scenario simply to cause chaos throughout Gotham. Batman and Katana free Shiva from the same fate but are pursued by the creatures.

In the meantime, Gordon is outside ready to burst in. He is stopped in his tracks by an official from the Mayor’s office who wishes to incinerate the building. Gordon refuses due to the fact Batman is at the scene and he believes Batman will contain the virus.

All the while Batman, Katana and Lady Shiva are keeping only one step ahead of the virus filled ninjas. Katana decides to help Batman by forcing him to leave and stopping the mutants herself. Batman is having none of it and returns in the nick of time and manages to save Katana, stop the mutants and make sure the city is not infected. Shiva returns to her lair to discover that Anarky has kept his word. He has returned her cargo: the frozen body of the league’s former leader and founder, Ras Al Ghul.

Beware The Batman: Sacrifice begins on a high note with the return of the much appreciated Anarky. Once again the character is a subtle but brilliant mix between The Riddler and The Joker, he leave clues to his crime but at the same time has an urge for complete chaos making the character not only contradictory but also fascinating.

The beginning of the story is excellently plotted, linking in with the on going story arc while advancing the individual and the arc’s plot without seeming like an “arc story”. One of Beware The Batman’s problems is the fact that whenever a story which is arc based was broadcast it felt too expositional. However, this episode feels much more fluid and less clunky as other arc based episodes. The ending of the episode, however, was not as smooth as it could be and when Batman somehow managed to save everyone just in the nick of time it seemed a bit contrived.

Beware The Batman: Sacrifice is a great episode that manages to advance the arc but also tells a satisfying story within the confines of the 20 or so minutes of the episode. It also reintroduces the show’s best character, the wonderfully mad Anarky. I hope that the next episode improves on the groundwork set in this story and follow its example, rather than spending too much time explaining the previous story arc it simply tells a good story.